We Live Because of You
by NastyandNeko
Summary: OC Qiao plays into the story of the Avatar Aang's great adventure.  She is a Firebender with a hidden power who must rise against the Fire Nation with Aang and stop the madness they have created.  Sorry, bad at summaries! Please rate&review! First fanfic
1. Introduction

Character—Qiao(ch-ee-ow). Qiao is short and agile. Her physical features show that she is a beautiful girl worthy of any prince, though that life is not for her. She is quick to judge and rebellious at heart. She is intelligent and skillful at Firebending and anything she sets her mind to. Her family seemed to have lost it's ability to Firebend a long time ago, around the time of the Air Nation's annihilation, and it had been hidden in their bloodstream until Qiao was born. Her family, however, did not want this secret to get out, so they scolded Qiao every time she used her powers. Her family was made up of poor, working class peasants who did all the hard work for the upper class. Sometimes they had to steal food to get by, and sometimes they got in trouble for it.

Introduction

It had been a little over a century before the Avatar appeared. The Avatar, the one who would bring peace to this world, had returned. No one believed it to be true at first, but after what happened at the place where the Northern Water Tribe resided, no one could deny that he had returned.

He had been born into the tribe of Air Nomads, a tribe that had been wiped out nearly one hundred years ago. Since it was prophesized that the next Avatar was to be born into the Air tribe, the Fire Nation decided to annihilate them.

The Fire Nation, who hated anyone who got in their way, wanted to destroy the Avatar at any cost. They cared very little or none at all for other tribes and only wished for world domination. Since this was their goal, they started their attack on the Earth Kingdom.

For years, we hoped that the Avatar would come. Eventually, we gave up hope. How could the Avatar come when he hasn't shown up for so long? How could he let the Fire Nation do this?

Then he arrived, trapped in an iceberg. The only Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara, and her brother, Sokka found the Avatar Aang while they were out hunting.

There was something extremely wrong with this Avatar, though; he was just a kid! It was also told that this kid didn't even have mastery over any other element but his own, Air. How were we supposed to believe in him when he hasn't connected with us?

Enough about him, and more about me. My name is Qiao, and I am a Firebender. My parents don't want the Fire Lord to know this, however, because the Fire Lord would probably execute my family for unintentionally keeping some secret or something. Who knows? No one else in my family can bend fire, though my great-grandmother used to tell me that they could a long time ago. Supposedly they married Firebenders ever since except for my grandmother. She was one-hundred twenty and still as sharp as a nail. My great-grandmother never married, though she had a child, and she refuses to tell us any specifics as to who her lover was and what family belonged to, except that his name was Feng.

"The process of keeping my Firebending a secret is a challenge. I want to practice my skills in case I need to use them someday. I have a natural talent with it somehow, but I don't feel it's good enough to take on the Fire Lord's daughter if necessary. I practice here and there when I get alone time. Sometimes my family will send me to fetch water in the middle of the night. I use my torch as my fire source and bends the fire to do my will. One time, the banished Prince Zuko caught me, but he said nothing. I have a feeling he is keeping tabs on me, though. I can't help but feel watched at times. "

That's me, and this is my story and how I play into Aang's great adventure. I will not be telling this story, however. Think of it as an ancient book you found in your archive.


	2. Caught

Caught

Let me take you back to the time where I was caught practicing my Firebending…

It was late at night and most people in the Fire Nation were asleep by now, minus the few royals who roamed the halls of the palace at this time. Prince Zuko, who often snuck around in a disguise, was probably snooping around, attempting to figure out what secret plot his father, the Fire Lord, was planning.

Qiao closed her eyes and focused on her emotions. They say that Firebending was controlled by your anger and rage. Qiao felt otherwise. Her determination to train and become better fueled her, not her angry emotions.

Training at night, Qiao knew, was not the smartest idea since Firebending was powered by the sun. If she was this strong at night, how would she be during the day? Maybe she could take on Princess Azula if she tried hard enough. With this thought in mind, she pressed on, bending the fire to her will. She started off easy with a small Fire Stream. She willed the fire to curve through the air, slicing it with ease.

She whipped her hand towards the stream and the fire dissipated in the water. Darn it! She'd meant to pull away right before it hit the stream. So much for self-control. That was something she'd work on.

The bushes behind her rustled gently, then violently as if someone had realized they made noise.

Well, the worst thing is that she was caught and didn't know who was there.

So what does she do? She braces herself.

"Show yourself!" Qiao said, bracing herself in the darkness of the night. She reached out with all of her senses.

Nothing. She couldn't sense anything.

Qiao sighed in relief and moved to sit at the edge of the stream. She knew she had to get back to her home soon, but she wanted to enjoy more of the serene quiet of this little area she called her sanctuary and her training ground.

"You're a Firebender." said a voice from behind her.

Qiao quickly turned to look into the eyes of none other than the banished Prince Zuko. She gasped and moved back, only to fall into the stream.

She panicked. She couldn't swim! She kicked her arms and legs, but she couldn't seem to find a rhythm. Curse the Fire Nation! Curse having to work all the time!

Strong hands grabbed Qiao by her shoulders and lifted her out of the water and dragged her to a patch of grass. She coughed and sputtered, trying to get the water out of her lungs—trying to breathe again. Once all was clear with her breathing situation, Qiao sprang up and prepared to defend herself.

"Woah, now. Calm down," assured her rescuer and immediate threat. "I'm not going to hurt you, and I'm not going to tell my father. Who knows, maybe you're special. Your family sure isn't, it seems." Zuko turned to leave and looked back over his shoulder while walking. "Better get home. They're doing checks tonight to make sure everyone's where they're supposed to be."

Qiao gasped and gathered her things, as well as a bucket of water. She had to have an excuse in case she got caught. In this case, her family would be desperate for water—which they were. Heart racing, Qiao raced home, ducking between the shadows. She had put her torch out at the stream and left it there. She didn't want the fire to attract any unwanted eyes.

She weaved through a few more alleyways until she finally saw her dwelling, right across the street. Looking left, she saw nothing. Looking right, she saw the inspectors knocking on the door of her neighbors. Close one! She waited until they went inside and snuck into her own house. She stripped off her wet clothes and put on a pair of some-what warm pajamas.

While crawling into bed, Qiao realized that her wet clothes were still on the floor. She hurriedly ran over to them just as a loud knock was heard at the door and the inspectors entered the house. She quickly stuffed the clothes into her small closet and jumped onto her cot, careful not to make any noise.

Qiao knew that the inspectors would come into her room. She also knew that she was a terrible actor, so they'd question her as to why she was awake even if she pretended to sleep. Oh well, it couldn't be avoided.

Of course, they asked her. Of course, she told them that she was overexhausted and couldn't sleep even if she tried. Of course they bought the lie and headed on their way, not even bothering to check her room for anything strange. She was just a kid, what would they do?

Qiao sighed and closed her eyes. She wondered why Zuko wouldn't say anything to the Fire Lord. She wondered why he was here in the first place. And as she wondered, darkness engulfed her and took her to her cruel, unrelenting nightmares.


	3. Rescue

Rescue

The following weeks were uneventful, and Prince Zuko was nowhere to be found. Qiao wanted to catch him off-guard and ask him some questions. Who knows, maybe she'd join him just to get out of here. He knew she was a Firebender. Well, he knew she was an unpracticed Firebender. With training, though, she could possibly become greater than him!

Ok, scratch that thought. There was no way she'd ever be better than Prince Zuko. And if she couldn't be better than Prince Zuko, she couldn't be better than Princess Azula.

Oh, darn!

Qiao walked down the street, searching for a wealthy Firebender to snatch some coins off of.

A man, standing at a fruit stand, waving his fancy Firebending skills through the air, stood a little ways away from Qiao.

Bingo!

Qiao lowered her head and walked towards the Firebender. She smirked as she got even closer without him even glancing at her. This would be easy.

As the Firebender moved, so did Qiao. She ducked and dodged through the crowd of people around her, hoping to get close enough to snatch his coin sack. As soon as she got to the front line, however, she was blasted with a fireball to her stomach.

Qiao flew back, her temper rising in a fiery inferno within her. "Watch where you Bend, idiot!" she snapped.

The Firebender was taken aback. "Who are _you_ to tell _me _what to do?" he retorted, preparing another fireball to shoot at her. "I'll teach you a lesson, you peasant!" He thrust his hands in Qiao's direction and the fireball shot towards her at a deadly speed.

Qiao was quick to react, rolling to her right and taking control of the man's fireball. Without hesitation, she intensified the heat and shot it back towards him.

Too astonished to react, the man met a face-full of flames.

Qiao quickly realized what she did, and keeping her head covered, she ran as fast as she could. Houses and shops flew past her as she ran into the forest, heading towards her sanctuary.

Hopefully they wouldn't look there.

As she ran, she heard the footsteps of not only peasants, but also soldiers as well.

Well, crap!

She made it to the clearing and quickly climbed a tree, hoping no one would see her. The mob of people made it to the clearing and paused. "She could be anywhere!" shouted someone from the crowd.

"Come out, little girl! We know you're here!"

"She can't cross the stream, can she?"

"We'd see some kind of trail in the dirt on the other side, I'm sure!"

"LISTEN UP!" shouted a soldier. Everyone quieted down immediately. "Does anyone know this girl's name?"

No answer.

"Ok, if anyone sees this girl again, you are to bring her to the Fire Lord or the nearest soldier. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright. Back to work!"

Everyone shuffled back to the town, murmuring things to themselves and their neighbors and wondering if they'd ever see the girl again. A girl dressed in peasant clothes that could Bend fire? Odd…

Qiao kept low for the next few weeks. Instead of doing her outside chores, she did her inside chores to help her grandmother out. She told her grandmother _everything_ that happened. No detail was left unsaid. Her grandmother understood, however, and told Qiao stories of how she had quite the temper back when she was Qiao's age.

These stories put Qiao at ease. Her grandmother always made stories interesting, even if they were very simple. Qiao spent the next couple of weeks feeling secure. She even did her outside chores.

Then the bad stuff began to happen. The Fire Lord, angered that the Firebending child was not found, decided to call all peasant children under the age of 18 to his palace.

This, of course, included Qiao, who was only 16.

They forced the children out of their homes and from their work, dragging them all up to the palace. Qiao didn't put up a fight. She knew she'd be found out before the day was over.

So it began; they tested the defenses of the children, throwing fire at them while blindfolded and pulling away just in time if the child didn't instinctively fight back. It was an impulse you couldn't ignore.

Once it was Qiao's turn, she stepped in front of none other than Princess Azula. The young princess tied the blindfold around Qiao's head.

Pitch black.

Qiao heard it, the crackling of flames. She heard the ruffle of clothing as Princess Azula moved to Bend the fire to her will. She then heard the fire screeching towards her.

Qiao tried so hard not to move, but her hand flicked.

Mistake. Azula saw.

Azula pulled the flame away and shot at her again.

Qiao's whole body moved.

Azula moved the fireball directly above Qiao and proceeded to drop it like a bomb on her head.

Qiao rolled out of the way and took control of Princess Azula's fire.

"What the—"

Azula had no time to talk because the fireball that was her own a few seconds ago was hurled towards her. She quickly gathered more flames from the torches around her and produced a Fire Whip. She lashed out at the fireball and it burst apart, only to form into tiny fireballs and fly like darts towards her.

Azula conjured a wall of fire in from of her. This kid was good, but she had no skill. Still, she was fighting blindfolded. She had no idea where Azula would move if she decided to move. She only knew where Azula was initially standing.

So Azula ran as quietly as she could to her left, careful to avoid stirring the fire around her. She had to keep her emotions under control.

"STOP!" shouted a voice from the entrance. There lay two guards, unconscious on the floor, and Prince Zuko standing above them. "She's mine."

"Yours?" asked Azula, mockingly. "You can't bend as well as she can, and she's _yours_? Don't make me laugh!"

Zuko sucked in air and calmed himself down. It was all he could do to not attack her right now. He knew he would lose.

"Yeah, she's mine. Right?" he turned to Qiao and began inching his way towards her. "We've known each other for a couple of weeks now." He made it to Qiao's side and removed her blindfold. "Isn't that right, Qiao?"

"Uh…yeah..I-I guess so…" Qiao stammered. She'd always had a thing for Zuko, regardless that she was a peasant.

"Listen, you two. You're BOTH mine!" said Azula with a smirk on her face. "You, dear brother, for coming here when you're not supposed to be here. And you, dear peasant, for breaking the rules and not telling my father! Let's skip taking you prisoner and skip straight to killing you, shall we?"

With those last words, Azula conjured two fireballs and shot them at Qiao and Zuko.


End file.
